Lions’ Decker dismisses latest blown call

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — It will be lost to history in the Lions’ 24-23 Wild Card win over the Rams on Sunday, but Taylor Decker isn’t likely to forget it any time soon.

For the second time in a matter of weeks, Decker was involved in a controversial call that could have been a deciding factor in the game.

With 1:06 remaining in the first half, Detroit faced 4th and 4 at the Los Angeles 41. The game was already shaping up to be a shootout, and the Lions were looking to stretch their lead before halftime. On the play, Decker and Jonah Jackson both reacted after a Rams player jumped into the neutral zone, however, the referees ruled that the offense moved first. Instead of a first down at the Rams 36, the Lions were forced to punt the ball and give Los Angeles a crack at taking a lead before halftime.

After the game, Decker didn’t want to address the situation with reporters.

“I’m not going to comment on the officials,” Decker told MLive. “It is what it is. They jump offsides, we just try to tag them. They called it against us. It is what it is.”

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The flat answer comes two weeks after the referees appeared to mishandle a two-point conversion that would have given the Lions a 21-20 lead over Dallas with less than a minute to go. On the play, where Decker caught the pass on the successful conversion, referee Brad Allen claimed lineman Dan Skipper was declared as an eligible receiver, not Decker.

Video replay clearly shows Decker signaling to the referee, and while Skipper was in the vicinity, he did not make the hand gesture that is used to report. If the play had been called correctly and the Lions had won the game, the Lions could have been the No. 2 seed in the NFC instead of the No. 3.

The Cowboys were upset by the No. 7 Green Bay Packers on Sunday, while the Lions are moving on. Decker is doing the same.

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“We won the game, so we’ll move on to the next one,” Decker said.

The Lions return to action Sunday in the NFC Divisional Round. They will play the winner of tonight’s showdown between No. 4 Tampa Bay and No. 5 Philadelphia. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. Sunday. The game will be televised on WOOD TV8.

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